International Ringette Federation

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The International Ringette Federation (IRF) is a non-profit amateur sports organization and the highest governing body for the sport of ringette. Today the member countries of the IRF Board includes four member nations: Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. Initially the organization was called the "World Ringette Council" (WRC), but was changed to the "International Ringette Federation" in 1991. The change is believed to have been made to avoid confusion with the organizing body and the new World Ringette Championships tournament which shared the same acronym, WRC.^[1]

The IRF is the organization responsible for administering the World Ringette Championships tournament, designed to provide a competition for the world's elite ringette players and help showcase the sport on the international stage. The inaugural year of the World Ringette Council's international ringette tournament, the World Ringette Championships, took place in Canada in 1990. Today the tournament is run by the IRF.

Historically, Canada and Finland have been the most active ambassadors in the International Federation. Canada and Finland regularly travel across various countries to demonstrate how ringette is played. Canadian teams have demonstrated in countries including Japan, Australia, Iceland, and New Zealand. The sport has also been introduced to Slovakia, Russia, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.^[2]